


I hear your name (in the dark)

by Starrie_Wolf



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Fluff, M/M, Muramasa arc, UraIchi Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-14 22:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14778185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrie_Wolf/pseuds/Starrie_Wolf
Summary: There's something weird about the way Zangetsu is acting, these days. His daemon shakes its head irritably, the little bone-white mask hanging off the side of his head jingling.But what can affect a manifested zanpakutou spirit?





	I hear your name (in the dark)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bookworm83197](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookworm83197/gifts), [mia826](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mia826/gifts), [Starsilver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starsilver/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Call My Name](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4871044) by [Starrie_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrie_Wolf/pseuds/Starrie_Wolf). 



> Bookworm83197, mia826 and Starsilver collectively asked for:  
> 1) Something set in my zanpakutou = daemons AU  
> 2) Muramasa arc
> 
> Here you go~

The first time Ichigo realises something might be wrong, Zangetsu nearly takes Kisuke’s hand off at the wrist.

Benihime flares up, sending showers of sparks everywhere, but she somehow manages to restrain herself from attacking.

“Is something wrong, Kurosaki-san?”

Ichigo has no idea.

Kisuke doesn’t look as if he fully believes Ichigo; which, to be fair, makes sense. Daemon or zanpakutō, the spirit animal is supposed to be a reflection of one’s soul, and it’s never been heard of for a daemon to act differently from zir owner’s true desires.

But everything’s perfect. Rukia’s safe, Orihime’s safe, his friends are fine, Karin and Yuzu are doing well in school.

It’s just that Aizen’s still making little jabs at Karakura, whittling down at their defences with these new Arrancar popping out of the woodwork, Arrancar that he wouldn’t have been able to make if he _didn’t get his hands on that damned Hōgyoku in the first place_.

Huh.

Maybe he’s more frustrated at Kisuke than he thought.

His thoughts must’ve shown on his face or something, for Kisuke puts the omnipresent fan away.

“Maybe we should stop seeing each other for a bit,” Kisuke advises gently.

Ichigo feels like his heart’s stopped. “What –” his voice is faint. But what else can he say? _Sorry my daemon almost mauled you because of my own subconscious?_

“Okay.”

He can hear Benihime’s screech, like she’s a parrot and not a phoenix, as he leaves the shop.

Kisuke has a point.

He should... he should sort this out first.

Zangetsu growls at him, the little bone-white mask hanging off the side of his head jingling. Ichigo’s so surprised he nearly misses a step. His daemon’s _never_ done that before.

“Yeah?” he asks out loud.

And then he looks up, because the reiatsu’s too strong for even him to miss.

The park?

☆☆☆

“ _Ichigo_.” Kisuke’s so exasperated that he’s dropping the formality. “When I said ‘a bit’ I didn't mean 'thirty minutes' –”

He shuts up when Ichigo shoves Rukia’s unconscious body at him.

“I found her in the park. She was being attacked by Sode no Shirayuki.”

Kisuke’s hands, already glowing green, still for a moment. “Interesting.”

☆☆☆

Of course, Ichigo stays. There’s no way he’ll leave Rukia alone before she regains consciousness.

He wakes up to find a familiar black haori draped over him, keeping the worst of the early morning chill away.

There’s no one else around to see him grin down at it stupidly, clutching it closer.

The door slides open. Tessai nods at him, slipping into the room to check on Rukia. He must have felt Ichigo’s presence stir; he’s gotten used to having either Tessai or Kisuke show up the moment he wakes up at the shop.

“Breakfast is on the table, Tenchō is in the lab,” he tells Ichigo, back turned away.

It’s as clear an invitation as any.

Ichigo snags two mugs of tea from the table as he passes, but his main destination is Kisuke’s private labs, next to the training grounds in the basement. He sincerely hopes Kisuke bought all the buildings in the vicinity, or they’re going to get a nasty surprise the next big earthquake.

He’s not surprised at all to see Kisuke slumped in a chair, a pen still loosely clutched in his lax grip, papers scattered all over the table.

Benihime fluffs up her feathers, but mostly ignores him. Her beady eyes are trained on Zangetsu, glittering gold in the dim light coming from the computer screen, but he can’t fault her for it, Sode no Shirayuki’s betrayal still inked fresh in his mind. If what little Rukia had managed to say yesterday was true, if the zanpakutō are turning against their wielders, then –

He sets the mugs down.

Kisuke, even in his sleep, looks so tense.

His hands find the knots in Kisuke’s shoulders, and he starts kneading gently. “You’re going to give yourself a crick in the neck, sleeping like that.”

Kisuke stirs at the sound of his voice and the hands on his shoulders. “Ichi-chan?” he slurs.

“Hey.” Ichigo finds his own voice softening to match. “It’s morning.”

Kisuke makes several incoherent noises, blinking blearily.

 _Almost like a computer booting up_ , Ichigo thinks with a stab of fondness.

“Is Kuchiki-san awake?”

Ichigo pauses in his impromptu massage to nudge the mug of tea closer.

“Nope.”

Kisuke’s brows furrow, even as he reaches instinctively out for the offering. “Then why –”

Ichigo clears his throat. “I thought we could spend some together, that’s all. It looks like something crazy’s going on in Soul Society again, so I don’t know when’s the next time I’ll get to see you.”

As he half-expected, at the reminder Kisuke’s eyes open fully, one hand already groping around the desk. “About that, I found something –”

“Later,” Ichigo interrupts.

Kisuke’s hands don’t pause in their blind search. “It’s important –”

“Is it so urgent that you can’t even wait for Rukia to wake up?”

Kisuke gives the matter some actual due consideration, his hands pausing. “No,” he decides.

“Then later,” Ichigo insists. He’s far too well-aware how Kisuke can derail the entire conversation once he gets going, and then they’d end up doing shop talk instead, and all that little downtime they have will be gone.

It may have been a little white lie on Ichigo’s part. He’s well aware that Tessai won’t interrupt them, even if Rukia’s awake, unless there’s an emergency.

☆☆☆☆☆

Ichigo’s eyes snap open. Where – _what_ –

“Byakuya!” he shouts, but that is a mistake, it costs more energy than he has. He collapses back onto the ground, struggling to stay awake.

Soul Society. Zanpakutō. Muramasa. _Byakuya_.

Somewhere nearby, Zangetsu howls like it’s a challenge, but Ichigo knows better. He can hear the wheezing pain in his cry, suggesting that he, too, has tried to get up, but has also failed.

What was in that –

Poison?

“Look what we have here,” a voice he really doesn’t want to hear right now leered, far too close for comfort.

It hurt. Everything hurt. Ichigo breathed through the pain, craning his neck until he can see the speaker. It’s that mad scientist freak Ishida warned him about, and he’s holding a strange syringe with the thickest needle Ichigo’s ever seen – and his Dad owns a clinic.

“Stop! Don’t – not that –”

“What are you saying?” Kurotsuchi wonders, snagging his collar and hauling him up.

“Let me go!”

“You must be treated quickly, or it will be too late.” He depresses the syringe, and what comes out is a strange bubbly green fluid, sizzling ominously as it hits the ground. It’s nothing Ichigo ever wants near him.

“I don’t need that stuff!” He scrabbles to get away, limbs burning with adrenaline, and manages a single, weak shunpo step.

Kurotsuchi makes an annoyed sound.

“Hold him down, Nemu.”

Zangetsu yowls pitifully, forcing himself to his feet, but Nemu simply swats him away like an annoying fly.

“Please calm down,” Nemu tells him, tone as monotonous as ever.

As though that’s even a remote possibility! Ichigo bites down on his lip until he can taste _blood_ , but Nemu for all her petite frame is like an immovable mountain on top of him, and no matter how hard he digs his heels into the ground he can’t make her budge.

His vision’s swimming in and out of focus, and Ichigo knows this feeling, knows it _intimately_ , but he can’t afford to black out now, not with Kurotsuchi leaning down, lips pulled back in a toothy leer –

For a moment, Ichigo thinks he’s hallucinating.

But the weight on top of him’s suddenly gone, and what little he can see of Mayuri’s face is tight with impotent fury. The syringe is lying broken on the ground, acid leaking everywhere, eating into stone and what Ichigo suddenly realises are severed fingers.

“I suggest you step away from him, Kurotsuchi-san.” Kisuke’s tone is light, but the sing-song quality is missing. “Or my Benihime will do far worse than just take off a limb next.”

Zangetsu falls silent.

“Urahara,” Kurotsuchi spits. “Your fool of a clumsy bird, that was my last vial of antidote –”

Through the haze over his vision, Ichigo sees Kisuke smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “Thank you for your assistance, but your presence is no longer required. Squad Four will be taking over momentarily; I am certain you can sense Unohana-taichō coming this way right now.”

“My poison cannot be so easily treated by those unfamiliar with it,” argues Kurotsuchi, but he doesn’t move any closer.

He hears the snap of Kisuke’s fan. “Unohana-taichō has assured me that she has already analysed its contents and produced an antidote.”

Ichigo smiles a little, and lets himself go.

☆☆☆

He awakens to fingers carding slowly through his hair, scritching pleasantly at his scalp just the way he likes it.

His lips twitch.

“Good morning, Ichigo.”

Somewhere nearby, Zangetsu is basking in a patch of sunshine, like a cat instead of the wolfdog he actually is. Ichigo stretches tentatively, and is pleasantly surprised at the lack of pain. The antidote must’ve been successful, then – not that he’s in the habit of questioning Unohana’s expertise.

“G’ morning,” he mumbles into what must be Kisuke’s thigh.

Morning, huh. The fight had occurred late in the evening, so he must’ve slept through the night.

He really doesn’t feel like moving, drowsy and content, his head pillowed in Kisuke’s lap. If he gets up, the illusion will be over. They’ll have to face the rest of the world, and this crisis Soul Society’s currently dealing with.

“You came,” he slurs.

The fingers in his hair pause briefly. “Of course I did,” Kisuke answers.

Ichigo smiles faintly and opens his eyes. “Thank you.”

The first thing that swims into view is an expanse of bare chest, barely covered by swathes of green fabric. It’s a very nice view.

Ichigo pushes himself up regretfully, putting a hand on Kisuke’s shoulder to steady himself.

“The meeting’s being held on the back porch,” Kisuke tells him, pointedly not calling Ichigo out on his very unnecessary action.

Ichigo grunts. He doesn’t particularly want to watch Renji chase Zabimaru around again, as amusing as that had been the first time, or watch Kyōraku get drunk, or have to deal with Ukitake’s crazy ass Third Seats.

“Is there anything interesting, or just them goofing off again?”

Kisuke hums thoughtfully. “Yoruichi-san found traces of the Head Captain’s reiatsu, so we’re pretty sure that’s where he’s being held.”

“Huh,” Ichigo says. “Then it’s decided that we’re going after him, right? What do we still need a meeting for?”

Kisuke’s expression doesn’t change, but Benihime caws in her version of a laugh.

“Well,” Kisuke says drily, “millennia-old captains don’t appreciate being _told_ what to do, even if it’s exactly what they would’ve done anyway.”

Ichigo snorts, leaning back against Kisuke’s shoulder.

“Well, while they’re having that ‘meeting’ of theirs,” he made some air quotes, “I’d rather enjoy the rest of this downtime with you.”

☆☆☆☆☆

Ichigo trips into the shop, absolutely soaking wet and dripping rainwater onto the wooden floors. He can only hope Ururu or Jinta, whoever it is who’s in charge of cleaning the shop today, won’t kill him.

Zangetsu shakes himself furiously, sending water droplets flying everywhere.

When he staggers out of the shower, still furiously towelling at his hair, there’s a change of clothes lying on the futon – Kisuke’s, he identifies after a cursory glance. It’s such a good thing they’re around the same height; Ichigo can just raid his closet instead of having to bring his own clothes every time he takes a shower. It’s not like he can go home covered in blood and slime.

Kisuke couldn’t go with them to fight Muramasa – Benihime hadn’t been touched by his powers, and they intended to keep it that way. Ichigo shakes his head, striding towards the basement. Knowing the shopkeeper, he’s probably holed up in his lab trying to find a way to counter Muramasa’s powers, on the off chance that the shinigami can’t handle him.

Ichigo looks forward to interrupting.

Even when he’s awake, it always takes Kisuke a few minutes to realise someone’s in his lab, since there are only three people keyed into his wards – Tessai, Yoruichi, and now Ichigo – and he trusts all of them implicitly.

Ichigo leans against the door, arms folded.

Kisuke’s intent on whatever it is that he’s holding. It looks like glass, so Ichigo’s not going to startle him into dropping it. Not the least because Kisuke will then pout the whole day, and Ichigo – well, he’s weak, okay? That pout absolutely kills him, and Kisuke _knows it too_.

Damned Hat-and-Clogs.

Why Ichigo loves him is such a mystery.

“I’m home,” he says quietly, once the fragile item looks to be safely out of the way.

Kisuke’s head snaps up, and there’s no hiding the smile in his eyes.

“Welcome back. I take it that it’s done, then?”

Ichigo sighs, walking forwards. “Yeah,” he agrees quietly. “Muramasa… he won’t be a problem anymore.”

He thinks of purple eyes, of Muramasa fading away with Koga’s death, and fervently hopes that will never be him and Zangetsu.

Benihime lands delicately on the table next to him and trills a soft call, rubbing against his hand.

“Maybe in another world, we could’ve been friends.”

He looks up, to see Kisuke watching him with an uncharacteristic soft look on his face.

“I’m sure you can,” Kisuke tells him, and somehow coming from his boyfriend it sounds like a promise instead of a platitude.

In gratitude, Ichigo leans into him.

“They’re setting off fireworks later,” he tells Kisuke, and feels Kisuke squeeze his hand. Fireworks for Muramasa, and maybe even for Koga, as a prayer and a gesture of goodwill for their next reincarnation. “Come with me?”

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> [cywscross's UraIchi Discord server](https://discordapp.com/invite/ADFnKTZ#_=_) | [Starrie's server](https://discord.gg/8yJVmbD) | [Tumblr](http://starriewolf.tumblr.com)


End file.
